The background description provided herein is solely for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the illustrative embodiments of the disclosure. Aspects of the background description are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the claimed subject matter.
Conventional natural gas engines may include multiple combustion cylinders each having a pre-chamber assembly in which combustion of natural gas occurs. Each pre-chamber assembly may include a pre-chamber body which receives a stream of fuel and meters the fuel to a pre-chamber tip. An igniter may ignite the fuel as it is metered into the pre-chamber tip. A cooling jacket which contains a supply of liquid coolant may surround the pre-chamber assembly to dissipate combustion heat. Due the generation of heat during operation of the engine, seals which normally maintain a fluid-tight connection between the pre-chamber body and the pre-chamber tip may be compromised over time, resulting in leakage of liquid coolant into the stream of fuel and consequently, combustion of the coolant with the fuel in the pre-chamber tip. This may necessitate frequent replacement of the pre-chamber assembly parts.
Accordingly, seal assemblies and methods which are suitable for imparting a seal between a removable pre-chamber tip and a pre-chamber body in natural gas engines and are characterized by enhanced sealing characteristics are needed.